269 - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), The Artist Drawing from the Model ('Het Beeldt van Pigmalion').

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), The Artist Drawing from the Model ('Het Beeldt van Pigmalion'). Etching and drypoint on laid paper, watermark Strasbourg Lily with Initials PR (Hinterding, variant E'.a.b.). (c.1639). 23.4 x 18.5 cm (sheet). Bartsch 192; White/Boon 192 II (of II); Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 176 III (of VI). A very fine impression of New Hollstein’s second state (of four), printing with rich drypoint burr and delicate vertical wiping scratches, and with subtle variations of tone in the dark passages above. In this intriguing unfinished print, an artist is shown seated in his studio, drawing from a nude model standing on a pedestal. The dark, densely hatched background contrasts strikingly with the lightly sketched and incomplete foreground. These freely drawn outlines suggest that Rembrandt worked directly on the plate without a transferred preparatory drawing, an impression reinforced by the model’s feet sketched in two different positions and the pentimenti visible in the artist’s face. Trimmed to the platemark at the upper and right edge, otherwise with thread margins. – The upper left and lower right corners skilfully repaired, with minor retouching. Verso with paper thinning in the lower left corner. A closed tear in the lower margin, two further closed tears at the left edge and several skilfully repaired paper flaws at the right edge. Otherwise in good condition. Taxation: regelbesteuert (VAT: Regular Taxation).